China＇s drastic solution to drugs scandal
By James Reynolds
BBC News, Harbin
Guo Ping says she dreams about her daughter all the time
Zheng Xiaoyu used to be one of the most trusted men in China.
He was in charge of making sure his country＇s food and drugs did not kill anyone.
But, on Tuesday morning in Beijing, a court found that he had failed - badly.
He was found guilty of accepting bribes and of lowering safety standards.
For his failure, he will be shot dead.
After the court＇s verdict was announced, my colleagues and I flew to the northern Chinese city of Harbin.
We met two families who tell us they bought contaminated drugs supplied by the Anhui Huayuan company.
Guo Ping lays out pictures of her daughter Liu Sicheng. They show the girl wearing a white dress and a small tiara.
＇Heavenly justice＇
Last summer the six-year-old caught a cold. So, her mother gave the girl some antibiotics she bought for 10 yuan (75p).
"I gave just a little bit", Guo Ping says, squeezing her fingers together.
On 24 July, after an antibiotic injection, the girl died.
"I think the court＇s verdict is heavenly justice," Guo Ping says.
Du Haipeng was given antibiotics last year and is now brain damaged
"The man deserves his punishment. This shows that the world still has justice."
Then she begins to cry.
"I dream about my daughter all the time. I see her staring at me, telling me she shouldn＇t have died. She tells me I must get justice for her. I have to do so. Otherwise I won＇t be able to face her when I die."
At the end of the room, six-year-old Du Haipeng lies still on a sofa. He was given the antibiotics last year. Now he has severe brain damage.
"When I heard the news of the sentence, I felt very excited," says Du Haipeng＇s uncle, Wang Guo Biao.
"Our boy took the fake drug approved by this man and his organisation. Our boy will never recover."
Drugs raids
For everyone involved in this case, the cost has been high.
The antibiotics have been recalled. The batch has been blamed for 11 deaths.
Last November, the general manager of the Anhui Huayuan drug company, Qiu Zuyi, was found dead. The official Chinese media said that he hanged himself.
China has promised to get rid of its supply of fake and contaminated drugs. It carries out periodic raids, and calls in cameras to take pictures of its hauls.
But the outside world is sceptical. This year alone, there have been reports of contaminated Chinese drugs ending up in Panama, the Dominican Republic, and the United States.
The Chinese Communist Party now realises it has a huge problem - fake drugs made in this country kill people.
The state hopes it can make things better by ordering its old drugs regulator to be shot.
China＇s solution is as drastic as its problem.
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